Three point barrage propels Yellowjackets past Rebels

Tuesday, December 26, 2006By TRENT FLETCHER

Town Crier Sports Staff

Bay threw in five consecutive long range bombs in a 1:30 span midway through the third quarter to help the Yellowjackets erase a 10 point deficit and rally past Riverside 65-60. Tuesday night in a key 2A-3 conference battle at Lake City.

Leading 35-27 at intermission, the Rebels opened the third period with Jordan Adcock nailing back to back three pointers to give Riverside a 41-31 lead with 4:25 remaining in the quarter.

Tyler Q. Griffin started the Bay comeback with a three pointer from the left corner before Tyrone Harris nailed back to back treys, the second at the 3:15 mark to pull the Jackets to within 43-40. After a basket by Rebel Garrett Weaver, Griffin hit Bay's fourth three pointer in a row to cut the Rebel lead to 45-43. Tyrone Harris capped off the three point barrage with a trey off the right wing to give Bay their first lead since early in the second quarter at 46-45 with 1:14 left in the quarter.

Adcock, who led all scorers with 27 points, nailed a 10-foot jumper with 50 seconds remaining in the quarter to give Riverside a 46-46 lead entering the final quarter. Adcock, who also grabbed 10 rebounds and helped hold Bay's high scoring Garrett Bollinger to just 12 points, began the fourth quarter with a short jumper to push the Rebel lead to 49-46. A Jerome Harris offensive stickback cut the lead to one, but Adcock ripped a three pointer to give Riverside a 52-48 advantage at the 6:52 mark. Riverside pushed their lead to 57-52 with 5:08 left when Garrett Weaver, who also hit double figures with 15 points, drained a three pointer of his own. But Tyler Q. Griffin answered with a trey to pull the Jackets to within 57-55. Tyrone Harris followed Griffin's trey with Bay's seventh triple of the second half to give the Yellowjackets a 58-57 lead with 4:10 remaining.

Glen Graham's free throw at the 3:31 mark tied the game for the last time at 58-58 before Bay took the lead for good on a short jumper by Tyrone Harris with 2:41 left, giving the Jackets a 60-58 lead. After a Rebel turnover, Bollinger nailed a 12-footer with 1:48 to play to push the Bay lead to 62-58.

Riverside couldn't convert on their next possession, and were forced to foul, sending Griffin to the line with 37 seconds remaining. The 5'9" senior hit the front end of the one and one, but misfired on the bonus, leaving Bay with a 63-58 lead.

Adcock drilled a 12-footer to pull the Rebels to within one possession at 63-60 with 28 seconds to go. Riverside fouled sophomore reserve Aaron Ballew with 15 seconds left. After a Riverside timeout, Ballew misfired on the front end of the one and one, giving the Rebels one last chance to tie the score. But with eight seconds left, Adcock inadvertently stepped on the sidelines, turning the ball over to the Jackets, forcing the Rebels to foul. Bollinger salted the game away by hitting both ends of a one and one.

Glen Graham finished the night with eight points and eight blocked shots while Cody Richardson also scored eight points. Casey Hook rounded out the Rebel attack with two points while dishing out six assists. The Rebels played without senior forward Michael Lawrence, who missed the game due to a back injury. Riverside was 12-18 from the foul line but was out-rebounded on the offensive boards 12-1. The Rebels finished with six three pointers on the night.

Tyrone Harris led Bay with 24 points, including four three pointers. Griffin had 16 points while Bollinger finished with 12. The Jackets nailed eight treys in the game, seven coming in the decisive second half. Bay was 7-10 from the foul stripe.

"You don't rebound you get your butt beat," said Riverside Coach Buster Campbell. "Basketball is pretty simple. When they want it more than you do and they rebound the ball better, you are going to get beat. There is no magic theories and no super coaching jobs there. They whipped our butts on the boards so bad it wasn't even funny. They had 12 offensive rebounds and we had one. We talked about attacking the inside at halftime, but in the second half we shot 11 three pointers and only 10 two pointers. If they don't want me to coach them I can't help them. End of story."

The loss was a costly one for Riverside, as they dropped to 4-3 in 2A-3 action. The Rebels are 13-6 overall heading into this week's NEA Tournament. Bay improves to 11-4 overall and 5-2 in conference action.